


Caramel

by jezzberry



Category: B.A.P, K-pop
Genre: Alternate Universe - Elementary School, Alternate Universe - Teachers, Children, Cute, Fluff, M/M, Romance, lmao I can't Tag
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-24
Updated: 2016-01-24
Packaged: 2018-05-15 15:57:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5791672
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jezzberry/pseuds/jezzberry
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The one where Youngjae's third grade classroom is about ten feet away from Junhong's kindergarten classroom.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Caramel

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by Anonymous in the [the_brownie_bunch_4](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/the_brownie_bunch_4) collection. 



> **Prompt:**  
>  Trigger Warning: none  
> Characters and / or Pairings: any  
> Description: Teachers AU  
> "My classroom is across from yours and every time I look through the window of my door, you’re always wildly gesticulating but it’s really cute."
> 
> I took some liberties with this, hope it's okay!

Youngjae stifles a yawn, adjusting the large leather satchel on his hip and slipping off the lanyard around his neck. The keys on the end jingle cheerily as he unlocks the door to his classroom and turns on the lights. He sets his things down on his desk and takes in the rare, peaceful atmosphere of the school. The sun is peeking in through the slots in between the blinds over the windows, casting spots of gold all over the blue carpet. Youngjae has been here for the last two weeks, setting up his room to be the safe, fun learning environment he wants for his students. It’s the first day of school, but the kids aren’t due to come in for another half hour, and Youngjae plans to enjoy the silence thoroughly with a cup of hot tea from the teacher’s lounge. He wouldn’t give up his job for anything, but as much as his third-graders bring him happiness every year, they also bring him a good many headaches.

 

A tentative voice clears its throat from the direction of the door. Youngjae glances up, met with the tall figure of a young male he doesn’t recall seeing before. The boy has dyed his hair a white-blond that just barely escapes blending in with his pale skin. It’s oddly attractive, paired with his dark eyes, slim nose, and pink lips. _He_ is oddly attractive, with clean features still softened around the edges by youth, broad, comfortably slouched shoulders, and legs that stretch on for what seems like forever.

 

“Yes, how can I help you?” Youngjae thinks the boy should be in college, not on the grounds of an elementary school.

 

“I’m so sorry, I lost the keys to my room. Well, all of my keys, actually. They moved my classroom all the way over here just two days ago and I must have misplaced them somewhere while I was frantically trying to get things in order. There’s just. So much _stuff_ for the kids.”

 

Youngjae grins a little and grabs his keys. “Where’s your classroom?” The new teacher leads him directly across the small hallway. The height difference between them is a strange feeling to Youngjae, one that he hasn’t felt since perhaps middle school. Youngjae himself is taller than the average, but this teacher towers over him by a solid ten centimeters. It has Youngjae squaring his shoulders almost imperceptibly. “I didn’t know we got a new third grade teacher. Do we have that many third-graders coming in?”

 

“Oh, no. I teach kindergarten,” the new teacher corrects.

 

Youngjae frowns a little in confusion. “But this is the third grade hallway.”

 

“They’re rebuilding the bathrooms in the kindergarten area, so they wanted to move the younger kids as far away as possible so nobody gets hurt from wandering into the wrong place. The kindergarten classes have been shoved in any corner of the school where there is space and a teacher willing to move out of their own classroom for a year. I just wish they had told me before I unpacked everything in my original room. Now I’ve barely managed to get the necessities out, but the classroom is a mess. The boxes are everywhere and I’m scared for the safety of the kids,” the young teacher rambles. He turns on the lights so that Youngjae can see the sorry state of the classroom. “I stayed until eight last night and the night before that, but this was all I could pull off.”

 

“Do you need some help? We’ve still got a half hour, and if you have a second pair of hands you could get more done.” Youngjae isn’t really sure why he offers his help. He has some of his own things to do, and a cold kettle in the teacher’s lounge waiting for him to warm it up. However, the way the new teacher looks at him like Youngjae is an angel sent from heaven seals the deal.

 

“Yes, please. Thank you so much. I’m Junhong, by the way. Choi Junhong. Pardon my rudeness for not introducing myself earlier.”

 

Youngjae waves away the apology and clasps Junhong’s outstretched hand to shake it. “I’m Yoo Youngjae. Let’s get started, there’s a lot to be done.”

 

.

 

Junhong thanks him profusely again once the students start shuffling in and Youngjae has to return to his own classroom a few steps away. Youngjae just smiles and tells Junhong to come by if he needs anything else. Youngjae listens to the way his heart is beating just the slightest bit faster and decides he kind of likes it. He keeps the door of his classroom open, as most teachers do, and catches himself glancing into Junhong’s classroom on several occasions throughout the day. He would chastise himself, but tells himsef that he can’t help but be drawn to the chipper tone he can hear filtering into his classroom and the active, engaged way he sees Junhong treating every one of his students.

 

Junhong does come by to visit toward the end of the day, his nose scrunched in embarrassment and slight pain. “I don’t have the key to the bathroom,” he whispers furtively when Youngjae raises an eyebrow at him. Youngjae’s students aren’t paying attention to the exchange anyway, too busy playing a game in which they throw around a ball and spell out a word that Youngjae gives them, so Youngjae sees no need for the attempted secrecy.

 

“Good job, boys and girls, that is how you spell _magic._ Now, try spelling _please_ ,” Youngjae instructs his students, side-eyeing Junhong pointedly.

 

Junhong scrunches up his nose just the slightest bit more at Youngjae’s teasing, then demands, “Can I have your keys again, _please_. Spelled p-l-e-a-s-e.” Junhong raises his voice at the end, loud enough so that the circle of children on the floor can hear him.

 

“Hey, that’s cheating!” Youngjae exclaims, but gives Junhong the keys around his neck anyway.

 

.

 

Junhong finds his keys in one of the boxes of things that has yet to be unpacked when Youngjae assists him in finishing the last bit of decorating and organizing after school on the first day.

 

“You’re a big boy now, you can go to the bathroom by yourself,” Youngjae can’t help but tease. Junhong makes a move to toss the picture book in his hand at Youngjae. “That has sharp edges,” Youngjae protests, ducking behind a desk. He wonders when he turned into a five year old again, but doesn’t pretend that he isn’t enjoying himself. He’s a straightforward kind of guy.

 

.

 

Over the course of the next few weeks, Youngjae learns a lot about Junhong from looking into his classroom. Junhong loves most of all to read to his students, and begins every class with a new picture book. He’s always acting out the scenes, stomping before the children as a big monster or waving his arms around wildly as he pretends to be a Siamese cat that wears a mask and thinks he is a Chihuahua— _Skippyjon Jones,_ Junhong later informs him, is the title of that particular book series. That same book series, incidentally, is Junhong’s favorite. (Youngjae quickly makes it his own favorite, too.)

 

Junhong confesses to Youngjae that he had wanted to be a theatre actor all throughout his high school years—hence his overdramatized renditions of the books he reads to his students. It’s Youngjae favorite thing to see, something he looks forward to every morning. He always makes sure he has his students working on a quiet, easy activity in the morning, both to help them wake up their brains, and to give him the time to watch Junhong’s storytelling.

 

Junhong’s kids start begging for storytime at various points throughout the day, and Youngjae knows Junhong doesn’t have it in him to say no. On some days, it’s all that Youngjae sees Junhong doing. Gesticulating, jumping, dancing around as he and his class speed through the large bookshelf occupying the wall behind Junhong’s teacher desk. Youngjae thinks Junhong has more energy than all of the children in his class combined. All twenty-six students plus Junhong gets a bit loud, occasionally, but Youngjae never has the heart to come in and tell them to keep it down. A few times, when the volume level reached the point where Youngjae’s own students would get rowdy from trying to over-shout the kindergarteners, Youngjae would make it over to Junhong’s classroom only to hesitate at the doorframe. Junhong would look at him in curiosity at first, and then silent understanding. Youngjae gives him a soft smile of gratitude, and by the time Youngjae returns to his own classroom, the noise has come down several notches.

 

Youngjae is absolutely enamored by Junhong’s infectious smiles, the way his voice carries when he gets especially enthusiastic, his frequent, unexpected, friendly drop-ins to Youngjae’s room, always with a joke or a pun to entertain Youngjae’s students. Youngjae really isn’t sure what to do with his enthrallment. Junhong, though—Junhong doesn’t wait for Youngjae to figure things out.

 

He approaches Youngjae while their students are having lunch in the cafeteria. “You know that game you play with your kids? The spelling one, where they sit in a circle and pass the ball around,” Junhong asks.

 

Youngjae nods. “What about it?”

 

“Do you think you could teach my kids to play it? They’ve been learning how to spell and I want to test them on it. You could come in while the third-graders are out at recess.” All of the grades have different recess times, to make it easier to manage all of the students. Typically, the teachers would all have to go out with them, but Youngjae is sure he can implore one of the other teachers to cover for him this once.

 

“Sure, I don’t see why not.”

 

Junhong already has his students in a circle when Youngjae comes in, and he has a jar of lollipops in his lap. Youngjae casts him a glance, the kind that says _do you really think that’s a good idea?_ but Junhong just grins back at him reassuringly.

 

The rules are simple, and the kids seem to understand and remain calm enough to get through the first few rounds as Junhong throws out words and awards the students that are behaving well with a lollipop. Smartly, he tells them they’re not allowed to eat it until after school. It’s almost evil, leaving their parents to deal with their sugar-high children. Youngjae has to give Junhong the credit that it’s also extremely smart.

 

“Okay, let’s do _art_.”

 

“A-r-t,” the ball goes around the circle.

 

Junhong taps his chin in thought. “That one was too easy, you all got it right. Let’s do a harder one. Everyone that gets the right letter gets a lollipop.” Youngjae watches in amusement as the students shift in excitement. Someone claps their hands. “How do you spell _date_?” Junhong asks.

 

“D-a-” say the first two boys confidently. Junhong, for some reason, is peering at Youngjae intently. The next girl hesitates, little brows pulling together as she thinks.

 

“You’ve seen this on your papers before, remember?” Junhong prompts. Youngjae can’t understand why Junhong has kept sneaking him looks all throughout this word. He’s gotten at least five and it’s only been two letters.

 

“t,” the girl crows triumphantly. The next student finishes it off with “e.”

 

The children look to Junhong expectantly, waiting for their treats. Junhong, however, has fixed Youngjae with a steady gaze. “Me?” he asks, voice titling up on the single syllable.

 

Youngjae blinks, and is about to ask Junhong what he’s talking about, but then— _oh_.

 

“Oh,” Youngjae repeats aloud intelligently. The kids, who don’t understand what’s going on, whine for their candy, and Junhong turns his eyes away as he doles out the promised lollipops.

 

_Date me?_

 

“Alright guys, now you have to spell _yes_ ,” Youngjae says. Junhong smiles so wide, so happily, that Youngjae is afraid his lips will split; he says as much, and gets a lollipop for his trouble.

 

Junhong’s kiss, later, when the students have all gone home, is sweeter than the lingering sugar on Youngjae’s tongue.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm right in the middle of the northeastern snowstorm and am due for up to 40 inches of snow lmao so school has been canceled and I have so much time to write! and I had the motivation to actually do two of these! 
> 
> If you like my writing, please consider leaving me a small tip on my [ko-fi](https://ko-fi.com/jezzberry)


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